Best Local Winery 

Dashe Cellars

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Best Local Winery 

Dashe Cellars

LINK TO ARTICLE

ALT ZIN:  California Heritage Vine Finds a New Beat 

"You really have to shake off your preconceived notions," Anne Dashe

A new style of zinfandel has emerged, one that emphasizes spicy finesse over extracted power, and it all started with the friendship between winemakers Mike & Anne Dashe and chef Mark Ellenbogen of SF's The Slanted Door.

For our summer issue, critic Patick J. Comiskey took a deep dive into the revolution in America’s iconic wine, interviewing the Dashes and Ellenbogen, as well as many of the coterie of younger winemakers now working this way.

Read Alt Zin at the link below:

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BY: Patrick Comiskey 

'Les Enfants Terribles' Zinfandels

In 2007, Michael and Anne started a new series of wines that they dubbed “Les Enfants Terribles,” wines that were inspired by many of the French wines that they admired, with balance, complexity, lower alcohols, and beautiful fruit aromatics and velvety textures. These easy-to-drink and expressive wines are a great complement to their lineup of classic “Signature Wines,” such as their Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, for which they had built a reputation since the winery’s birth in 1996.

93 Points - 2018 Zinfandel, Heart Arrow Ranch 'Les Enfants Terribles' 

We take this fruit from the biodynamically farmed Heart Arrow Ranch in Mendocino Co, ferment using whole clusters and uncrushed grapes, followed by aging in 900-gallon casks to create a wine that is more similar to a Beaujolais than a California Zinfandel. Soft and velvety with flavors of black cherry and strawberry.

2018 Zinfandel, Mendocino Cuvee 'Les Enfants Terribles"

The grapes for this blend came from Signal Ridge Vineyard—at over 3000 feet, the highest elevation vineyard in all of Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma Counties.  The elevation of the vineyard is so distinctive that it falls within a special appellation, the “Mendocino Ridge,” which is the only appellation in America that is designated on basis of elevation. The high elevation, steep slopes, and extremely rocky soil make the ideal growing conditions for making complex, balanced, compelling wines. 

We modeled this wine after Grand Cru wines from the Beaujolais region of France. Its light red color, excellent aromatics, and silky smooth texture mark it as a more “Old World” style of wine; extremely drinkable and enjoyable on its own.

Age-worthy wines since 1996

Join Mike & Anne Dashe for a deep dive into all things Dashe Cellars 

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Featured Wines: 

Dashe Cellars 2018 Todd Brothers Ranch Old Vine Zinfandel,

Dashe Cellars 2018 Les Enfants Terrible Zinfandel Heart Arrow Ranch

Dashe Cellars 2018 Grenache, Clarksburg

Dashe Cellars 2018 Les Enfants Terrible Zinfandel Mendocino Cuvee

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Dashe Cellars

PHOTO BY LORI EANES

GLIMPSES OF SAN FRANCISCO SKYLINE GREET THOSE SIPPING AND TRIPPING AROUND FOR WINE, SPIRITS, AND BREW WITH A VIEW.

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Mike and Anne visited NYC for the return of the Grand Portfolio Tasting

Skurnik Wines & Spirits is an importer and distributor of fine wines and spirits headquartered in the heart of New York City. We represent a high-quality, diversified portfolio of wines and spirits from around the world. The company began with just a handful of relatively unknown estates in 1987, and has since grown to represent over 500 estates, most of which are family-owned-and-operated.

Sisters, Sandy & Michelle, are on a mission to try two new wines per week. While tasting and reviewing, they share helpful hints as well as tips and tricks to wine tasting and selection. Periodic guests spanning the spectrum of the wine world, from the hobbyist to the wine insider will bring an additional perspective by sharing their wine stories as well as their interpretation of the wine tasted. Each episode uses the Wines To Find simple method for curating wines. Taste along with us and share your thoughts on whether or not the wines featured are Wines To Find.

Wines: Dashe Cellars Todd Brothers Ranch Old Vine Zinfandel, 2018 and Les Enfants Terrible Zinfandel, 2018
Guest: Anne Dashe

Dashe(ing) into National Zinfandel Day

A monkey and a fish grace the logo of Dashe Cellars and it is a wine that my husband and I have enjoyed for years. While the logo has evolved, the sentiment remains. It’s a story of adventure, romance and wine illustrating “two creatures going on a journey” – a story of love and wine. A story of a newly married couple with one coming from a fishing village and one coming from Tarzana, CA, which inspired an artist to create the label.

When the bottle arrived for National Zinfandel Day, a day dedicated to celebrating all things zinfandel which is celebrated on November 17, I was excited to revisit a special bottle of this wine.

History of Zinfandel

Zinfandel is noted as one of the oldest grape varietals. While it has been mentioned as coming from Italy and Austria, Zinfandel has its own clear identity. In 2001, nine vines of “Crljenak Kaštelanski” were discovered in Croatia that had the same DNA structure as California Zinfandel.

In 1820, George Gibbs, a nursery owner, brought cuttings from Vienna to New York. It was grown mostly in greenhouse settings until Frederick Macondray brought Zinfandel vines to California. It survived phylloxera and unfortunately evolved into the experiment known as white zinfandel. This started a trend that led to the preservation of old Zinfandel vines.

The rest is a well-documented story and a movement dedicated to advancing the appreciation of Zinfandel wine and preserving its history.

The History: Dashe Cellars

Dashe Cellars is a family-owned artisan winery located in the old Naval Airbase in Alameda, CA that was established in 1996. Known as an urban winery, it was founded by Michael and Anne Dashe, who were newly married and believed that people shouldn’t have to travel to wine country to taste exceptional wines.

They are committed to creating wines that reflect soil, climate and vineyard characteristics.  They focus on single-vineyard wines with a traditional, non-industrial approach to winemaking using small-lot fermentation, indigenous yeasts, and little or no fining or filtration.

The Wine: 2017 Dashe Cellars Todd Brothers Ranch Old Vines Zinfandel

The wine is 98 percent Zinfandel with 2 percent Petite Sirah and is aged for 18 months.  It’s clear this is an Old Vine Zinfandel with vines planted back in 1958. It has so much depth with notes of blackberry, cherry, herbs, earth, cocoa, raspberry, chocolate and licorice.

On this day celebrating Zinfandel, I encourage you to grab a glass and toast to a grape that has found a clear identity – one that builds on flavor, character and history.